Why are so many soccer players one-footed?

Cienciano

lordgoat wrote: »

From a very non professional footballer. I practiced with old leftie for years. Nothing serious, just i'd play practice games where i'd use my left foot the whole time, and mirror how i shot with my right with it. After 7/8 years of practice and 7 aside i can pass and take a corner decently with either foot. No real power on my weaker side but accuracy def improves and it improves overall comfort on the ball.

Edit: I'll also cross/shoot with my left if that's the best option rather than take a touch and swap sides.

It shocks me that pro's in the game will use the outside of the right for a pass that is easier with the left. But hey, what do i know?

To be honest, I thought pretty much everyone here would be in the same boat. Unbelievable that people actually think you can't improve your weaker foot!

Optimalprimerib

dreamers75 wrote: »

Please hand back your access to the soccer forum (OP called it that, clearly a troll)

Seriously hand it back, you talking about ****e you have no ****ing clue about.

Its great to have alex ferguson on the forum to correct us cretins. Can you be as obnoxius on both feet or are you one sided as well?

klose

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I am going to have to mention him because nobody else has yet and because he is do ridiculously good with both feet but for me David Luiz is one of the best players from both feet in the world. He can play either side, he can lead with either foot when jostling, I've seen him play crazy sweeping passes from both feet, I've seen him shoot with both feet, I've seen him take freekicks from left and right foot. He's a properly gifted player with both feet.

Im amazed you didnt mention adriano, hes as two footed as they come.

Andersonisgod

klose wrote: »

Im amazed you didnt mention adriano, hes as two footed as they come.

Absolutely and he's scored really great goals from both feet, can play right back or left back (or centre back, or as a winger and probably as a central midfielder too) though David Luiz is the one that sprung to mind when I saw the thread title.

con___manx1

anthony pilkinghton can play with both feet. i watched a youtbe video of him recently. his shot is just as powerful right or left. i couldn't believe it.hope he plays on friday. i really dont think he will tho.

bassy

Why are so many snooker players right handed?
same reason as most of us can only write with one hand

Local_Chap

bassy wrote: »

Why are so many snooker players right handed?
same reason as most of us can only write with one hand

Going a bit off topic here but didn't Ronnie O`Sullivan beat Peter Ebdon in a frame playing with his left hand

hefferboi

2 personal examples for me that prove all you need is practice.

1 is of my friend. Serious at everything he played. Hurling, football and soccer. He was naturally right footed but said when he saw a Roberto Carlos rocket into the top corner when he was younger that he wanted a good left leg as well. So he practiced and practiced and now it's as good as his right. He prefers his left but can use either.

The other is me. I used to be extremely left footed and the boys would slag me no end about it. So I just said fcuk it ill use my right a bit more. Didn't really practice it much but would use it regularly in matches and training. It's not as good as my left but I've scored some belters with it. I can pass short as good but not long passes.


Anyone who says you can't train your weaker foot to be as good as your stronger foot is wrong. Imo, you can coach anyone to be better at any attribute in soccer, except speed.

hefferboi

Also, I read somewhere that when Bale was in school, his p.e teacher would ban him from using his left leg so the other kids would have a chance.

Didn't make him less one footed though

Soby

Crespo was brilliant with both feet in fact dont think I ever found out what foot he actually was

Kirby

I think it's pretty clear that bucketybuck and dreamers75 are just bitter one legged men.

Seriously, I've rarely seen two people become so vitriolic and hateful over so trivial an issue.

BOHtox

Morten Gamst Pedersen was right footed growing up and decided to switch to his left as there's a better chance of him becoming a footballer.

I did the same :rolleyes: The way my back garden goal post was situated meant that if I used the right foot it would be an awkward angle but ideal for a left footer. So I practised and started using it predominantly. Could use both quite adequately. Worked from about u11s to u17s. Thems were the days!

SherlockWatson

lordgoat wrote: »

From a very non professional footballer. I practiced with old leftie for years. Nothing serious, just i'd play practice games where i'd use my left foot the whole time, and mirror how i shot with my right with it. After 7/8 years of practice and 7 aside i can pass and take a corner decently with either foot. No real power on my weaker side but accuracy def improves and it improves overall comfort on the ball.

Edit: I'll also cross/shoot with my left if that's the best option rather than take a touch and swap sides.

It shocks me that pro's in the game will use the outside of the right for a pass that is easier with the left. But hey, what do i know?

I used to love watching Quaresma use the outside of his boot, although he is definitely an exception, he was magnificent at it!

sydthebeat

hefferboi wrote: »

2 personal examples for me that prove all you need is practice.

1 is of my friend. Serious at everything he played. Hurling, football and soccer. He was naturally right footed but said when he saw a Roberto Carlos rocket into the top corner when he was younger that he wanted a good left leg as well. So he practiced and practiced and now it's as good as his right. He prefers his left but can use either.

The other is me. I used to be extremely left footed and the boys would slag me no end about it. So I just said fcuk it ill use my right a bit more. Didn't really practice it much but would use it regularly in matches and training. It's not as good as my left but I've scored some belters with it. I can pass short as good but not long passes.


Anyone who says you can't train your weaker foot to be as good as your stronger foot is wrong. Imo, you can coach anyone to be better at any attribute in soccer, except speed.

Including speed.

Vex Willems

I'm left footed but can also play off my right just as well. When I was about 13 I hurt my left foot and couldn't kick a ball so instead of not playing when ever the lads were having a kick about I started using my right foot and did so for a couple of months. Also may have been helped by the fact that although left footed I'm right handed and always been right footed for kicking from the hands.

In saying that, that doesn't make me a great footballer, currently about fourth choice left full for my club.

Colemania

gustavo wrote: »

If only someone had told all those footballers all they had to do is practice with it and they'd all be as good as you are

Good man yourself fishing for "thanks" there and thinking you're great because i said practice can make a weak foot better and then so so many posts after mine saying the exact same and everyone goes quiet. Keep your smart comments to yourself from now on

And yes i agree with the poster who said there was some bitter one footed people on here, although they probably said it half jokingly too :P I've nothing to brag about whatsoever as i can't even play amateur i'm so bad I was just saying that ANYONE can get better with practice and have a lot of determination.

bucketybuck

Kirby wrote: »

I think it's pretty clear that bucketybuck and dreamers75 are just bitter one legged men.

Seriously, I've rarely seen two people become so vitriolic and hateful over so trivial an issue.

Oh my, you must be very sheltered.

bullpost

I'm just listening to Tony Galvin on Newstalk. When he joined Spurs he was a right-sided player. He couldn't break into the first team and so trained himself to use his left foot and eventually got in the team as a left-sided midfielder.

BOHtox wrote: »

Morten Gamst Pedersen was right footed growing up and decided to switch to his left as there's a better chance of him becoming a footballer.

I did the same :rolleyes: The way my back garden goal post was situated meant that if I used the right foot it would be an awkward angle but ideal for a left footer. So I practised and started using it predominantly. Could use both quite adequately. Worked from about u11s to u17s. Thems were the days!

jonnyfingers

It takes a lot of effort to retrain your body to use a weaker limb, time possibly better spent training on other things. And I think the favoured limb will always be hard-coded into the brain and will make it difficult to properly train two limbs to be as good as each other.

I remember when I was younger I suffered really badly from a persistent ingrown toenail on my right foot which made kicking a ball with that foot absolute agony. So for around 4 months I could only kick with my left foot. By around the 4 month mark I actually became really really good with the left side, not as good as I was on the right, but damn close.

However the second my right foot was better, and I went back to favouring it, the left immediately reverted back to its awkward self. It's as if my brain knew which leg it preferred, was forced to deal with only one for a time so concentrated on improving it, but the second both were back in working order it cleared the muscle memory from the left leg and went back to focusing on the right.

764dak

C. Ronaldo and Cuahtemoc Blanco are also two footed.

stampydmonkey

when i was around 10 my granda (ex league of Ireland) was watching me kick a ball against a wall. saw i was all left sided so made me put a really uncomfortable sandel on my left and a football boot on my right. told me to play like that until you can put the ball where you want. totally improved my right side and all it took was few hours a week hitting a ball off a wall.

i don't know how anyone can believe a professional club doesn't have a coaching or methodologies to make someone improve their bad foot. its easy but takes time, something a professional footballer has in abundance. its a player attitude problem if you ask me. they mostly train in the morning and that's it for the day.

i would be ashamed to be a professional footballer relying solely on one foot.

y0ssar1an22

well that was a disappointing result. How many missed crossing opportunities were there cos coleman can't use his left foot?

No excuse for it at the professional level. 50 years ago (or however long ago) people who were left handed were made write with their right hand. May have took a while, and not the same as feet, but it can be done.

Corholio

I think theres a wide variation on what people see as 'two footed'. Someone like Cazorla is what I personally would consider two footed, I see someone mentioned Van Persie earlier, I wouldn't consider him in that same category at all, nor Luiz either, however he is quite good with both, but you can tell he's right footed and has a more natural balance when he uses his right.

dobman88

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

This is my biggest pet-peeve in soccer...not really a pet-peeve actually, but something that really grinds my gears :mad:

The amount of scoring opportunities missed because they have to get the ball on their good food, the amount of (good) passes that are never made because they have to turn back on their good foot and pass the ball 10 yards back. Players having to turn in/out to get on their good foot missing the opportunity for a good cross, pass, etc.

Surely these payers that earn ~10-50k+ a week should be able to use both feet? And its never really talked about or acknowledged. Why dont coaches make players improve their weaker foot.

What are your thoughts?

Hi OP, here is a list of other threads you can start:

• Why do tennis players only serve with their "strong" hand?
• Why do golfers only swing with their strong hand?
• Why do swimmers usually compete at the stroke they are best at?
• Why do NFL quarter backs pass 99% of the time with their strong hands? They get paid a LOT more than football players so therefore, using your theory, should be equally good with both hands?
• Why is the sky blue?

As has been said before, "soccer" players are normal human beings who are fortunate enough to be blessed with the skill to make a living from the game we all love. Just because they sign a contract doesn't automatically create the miracle of being able to use both feet.

They are lucky and fortunate enough to be a pro at all so I don't see why they should have to be equally good wih both feet.

y0ssar1an22

dobman88 wrote: »

Hi OP, here is a list of other threads you can start:

• Why do tennis players only serve with their "strong" hand?
• Why do golfers only swing with their strong hand?
• Why do swimmers usually compete at the stroke they are best at?
• Why do NFL quarter backs pass 99% of the time with their strong hands? They get paid a LOT more than football players so therefore, using your theory, should be equally good with both hands?
• Why is the sky blue?

As has been said before, "soccer" players are normal human beings who are fortunate enough to be blessed with the skill to make a living from the game we all love. Just because they sign a contract doesn't automatically create the miracle of being able to use both feet.


They are lucky and fortunate enough to be a pro at all so I don't see why they should have to be equally good wih both feet.

Where to start?

I'll address the 'soccer' comment 1st. Thats just always how I distinguish between association football and gaelic football. How do you distinguish? Or do you refer to both of them as football?

As for your examples...hard to compare with 'soccer' but the best I can do is compare them with corner/freekick/ kickout. If you read the thread you would realise I am not referring to these situations.
More like when your in open play and refusing to use your weaker foot, missing out on goal scoring opportunities, crosses and the like.

I am aware soccer players are normal human beings, but for professional soccer players this is their job. When need arises they should be able to use their weaker foot. Not turn back on their good foot and play a 10yard backpass on their good foot.

Becoming a pro does not create the miracle of 2-footedness, but they should be able to use their weaker foot. Its nothing a bit of training couldn't rectify, and will also make a team more effective.

As I said before, people who used to write left handed were made to write with their right hand, and now can do that fluently, with their right hand becoming their 'good' hand.

I thinks its down to 1 main reason. Young soccer players that have the potential to be professional are usually better than their counterparts at underage level. Because they were always better they never needed to use their weaker foot.
So when they step up to professional level they just carry on with their stronger foot.
Coaches at underage level should encourage the use of the weaker foot, and the players should also want to improve their weaker foot.

TL,DR: your examples are not comparable with soccer, when the appropriate opportunity presents itself you should be able to use your weaker foot, with training you can improve your weaker foot.

inforfun

Corholio wrote: »

I think theres a wide variation on what people see as 'two footed'. Someone like Cazorla is what I personally would consider two footed, I see someone mentioned Van Persie earlier, I wouldn't consider him in that same category at all, nor Luiz either, however he is quite good with both, but you can tell he's right footed and has a more natural balance when he uses his right.

I mentioned Van Persie but i think you understood me wrong. He was never a natural 2-footed player. But he trained hard to become as 2-footed as possible.

Wesley Sneijder is as 2-footed as they come. Free kicks he will take left or right, depending on the position, he doesnt care.
Still i think even the natural ones have a preference for either left or right.

I also think, strictly based on my own game, it is a mental thing. Give me all the time and space in the world to shoot with left and it looks like i shoot a ball for the 1st time ever. But when under pressure and no time to think i could give a decent cross or strike with left.

dobman88

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

Where to start?

I'll address the 'soccer' comment 1st. Thats just always how I distinguish between association football and gaelic football. How do you distinguish? Or do you refer to both of them as football?

As for your examples...hard to compare with 'soccer' but the best I can do is compare them with corner/freekick/ kickout. If you read the thread you would realise I am not referring to these situations.
More like when your in open play and refusing to use your weaker foot, missing out on goal scoring opportunities, crosses and the like.

I am aware soccer players are normal human beings, but for professional soccer players this is their job. When need arises they should be able to use their weaker foot. Not turn back on their good foot and play a 10yard backpass on their good foot.

Becoming a pro does not create the miracle of 2-footedness, but they should be able to use their weaker foot. Its nothing a bit of training couldn't rectify, and will also make a team more effective.

As I said before, people who used to write left handed were made to write with their right hand, and now can do that fluently, with their right hand becoming their 'good' hand.

I thinks its down to 1 main reason. Young soccer players that have the potential to be professional are usually better than their counterparts at underage level. Because they were always better they never needed to use their weaker foot.
So when they step up to professional level they just carry on with their stronger foot.
Coaches at underage level should encourage the use of the weaker foot, and the players should also want to improve their weaker foot.

TL,DR: your examples are not comparable with soccer, when the appropriate opportunity presents itself you should be able to use your weaker foot, with training you can improve your weaker foot.

Ok, so the golf, swimmer and tennis player comparisons were OTT. But what about the NFL QB? I am an NFL fan and I have never seen a QB throw a pass with their weaker hand even when a team mate was free and they are paid a lot more than football players.

I agree, all underage players should be better trained and work should be done on their weaker foot regardless of general ability.

I distinguish gaelic from association by calling association, football and by calling gaelic, G.A.A, but I pronounce each letter in G.A.A separately. I don't jut call it gaaaaaaaaaahh. Other times I just call it gaelic.

With regard to players missing out on goal scoring opportunities, crosses etc. If the coaches/managers started taking said players off for that kind of play then it might encourage them to use their weaker foot. We do hear a lot of commentary saying "Oh, he's unlucky, just trying to get it on his strong side". So a lot of the blame has to go to the managers for letting this happen too. If I was getting paid stupid amounts of money to do things right, I would probably use my most comfortable side.

Also, why is it a pet peeve or grinds your gears?

y0ssar1an22

dobman88 wrote: »

Also, why is it a pet peeve or grinds your gears?

Just to give a quick answer to this...
I find it very frustrating when a player misses out on a good scoring/crossing opportunity by trying to get the ball on their stronger foot.
The game would be so much more expansive if they could use their weaker foot, instead of just relying on the one.

dobman88

TBF though, if a pro footballer swung his weak foot at the ball and completely fluffed it the commentator and "analysts" would be saying why didn't he drag the ball to his good side, they really can't win either way.

I play footie and all you would hear if the ball was on my weak side is "take a swing at it". Stark contrast between pros and us amateurs.

As inforfun just said, if I have time and space I couldn't kick a ball with my left foot. Ever. But when it is a split second decision then I don't have a problem, almost the same as using my right foot. Strange one.

Tigerandahalf

I agree with your OP. When we played when we were young we were always made play with our weaker foot for a certain amount of the training time. It is just poor coaching not to do it. All GAA players should be able to pass, kick and pick up off their weak side. In soccer you only have to teach your weak foot.
Last night James McLean had a decent chance that was crying out to be hit with his right foot. Instead he turned back onto his left foot and the chance was wasted.

5live

Skylinehead wrote: »

Pretty sure he doesn't have a stronger side. He used to take corners with both feet

Carzola had to stop it though.

He fell on his ar*e too much:D

Smithwicks Man

Sneijder, Pirlo, Cazorla are all totally ambidextrous and stand out as being able to kick equally good with both feet.

The majority can't do this but to be fair, if they're training every single day then a lot of them should be better with their weaker foot than they are.

TimeToShine

I'm sure that these days if a scout saw a young footballer with a good crossing/shooting opportunity on his weaker foot try and switch onto his preferred foot then he would immediately cross him off the list. To make it in this day and age you have to display competence with both feet unless you are truly something special, and even then you'll be strongly encouraged to learn to use your weak side.

Captain Havoc

dobman88 wrote: »

Hi OP, here is a list of other threads you can start:

• Why do tennis players only serve with their "strong" hand?
• Why do golfers only swing with their strong hand?
• Why do swimmers usually compete at the stroke they are best at?
• Why do NFL quarter backs pass 99% of the time with their strong hands? They get paid a LOT more than football players so therefore, using your theory, should be equally good with both hands?
• Why is the sky blue?

.

They're all bad examples, it's like asking why doesn't a soccer player use his other foot to take a set piece?

Corholio

Smithwicks Man wrote: »

Sneijder, Pirlo, Cazorla are all totally ambidextrous and stand out as being able to kick equally good with both feet.

The majority can't do this but to be fair, if they're training every single day then a lot of them should be better with their weaker foot than they are.

I'm not so sure on Pirlo. He can play quality passes with both feet and equally control it to feet with either, but moving forward with the ball I'd only ever noticed him using his right foot. I think Cazorla is a bit more two footed in this respect.

SherlockWatson

I've a better free kick off my left and am comfortable playing on it, but am predominantly right footed.

764dak

Here is Blanco with his weaker left foot:

enfant terrible

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I agree with your OP. When we played when we were young we were always made play with our weaker foot for a certain amount of the training time. It is just poor coaching not to do it. All GAA players should be able to pass, kick and pick up off their weak side. In soccer you only have to teach your weak foot.
Last night James McLean had a decent chance that was crying out to be hit with his right foot. Instead he turned back onto his left foot and the chance was wasted.

The pro's of today are not being as well trained as you were in your youth?